//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: One Small Secret // by MyLittleChangeling //------------------------------// My dear Prof sor Halzen in I am afraid the wea er has been terrib lately, and the rain sho no sign of stopping. The parch nt is alre dy spattered with water, b t there is not m ch I can do about that - let us hope it cl ms nothing of im tance, yes? Anyhow, I hav covered new evidence in the ter family mansion c cerning their status. It ap ars their p k has unlocked a rare ability so f r found in Our informer ex led himse his time, and we were able to witness a tran tion in . It se ese cre res are unique to equum lupi in that the mplete. The mar tinues to p de us wit tbits, but n of o ethods have led to a f fession of her si rhaps you will th k of a u fo er words, as sh fuses to say e. 's pack is th r family, and their family is their pack Kill a shifter's fa it's orn shif ou've att cked I must g w, the m is f and I bel I glimps a wo A crisp white note had been pinned to the front, an ominous reminder of reality. Scootaloo, The mangled remains of Dr Schalenfeld were discovered on what I believe to be the morning after he wrote this. Much of it was blurred due to apparent heavy rainfall the evening before, but I assure you the end was undamaged. He was killed while writing this, just before my moon imprisonment. At the time, Dr Schalenfeld was investigating 'mysterious wolf creatures' with the assistance of his partner, Professor Halzenstein. She suffered a similar fate almost exactly a month later - the case remains unsolved. I myself spoke to the 'mare' he mentions, and it seems he requested she provide precious information about equum lupi (the 'werepony' of it's time). The riddle quoted near the end refers to particular improving genetic mutations being a hereditary gene. Investigation could be useful ... Luna *** "Sweetie! Sweetie Belle! Ah need ta talk ta you ..." Applebloom collapsed on the meticulously tended grass outside Rarity's house, leaving a curious filly shaped patch that the white mare could only assume was part of another of her sister's ridiculous crusades, though for what sort of cutie mark she dared not imagine. "Applebloom! I thought you were in Canterlot with Scootaloo!" "Got ... back ... early ... important ... things ... need ta ... hear ..." Tired from her run through Ponyville, Applebloom managed to pant out a few words before speech escaped her, but it was enough for a very concerned Sweetie to drag her into the boutique. "What's happened? Is Scootaloo hurt? Are you hurt? Who did it? Was it the princesses?" Sweetie Belle's eyes widened. "Did they send Scootaloo to the moon?" "NO!" The filly was sure if she was bombarded with any more questions, she'd explode into tiny pieces and it would rain Applebloom. Rarity would probably not be pleased that her best dresses were covered in innards. "We just got back early!" "Sorry ..." To her credit, Sweetie tried her hardest not to bother Applebloom with annoying questions. She simply couldn't resist one more, though. "Um, what's so important then?" Applebloom sighed. "Ah need ta show you ..." *** Scootaloo wasn't quite sure why the princess had sent her home with possibly the strangest notes she'd ever received, but with a little help from a large dictionary she figured out that Luna was hinting her parents were ... well, whatever she was too. Armed with the excuse that the Royal Princess Luna herself had requested it, Scootaloo began a full scale search of her parent's room. Their room was nearly bare - for the amount of time they were here, she thought, it would be - until she reached the wardrobe. It was stuffed with useless possessions, and ridiculous amounts of clothes they would never wear, but hidden right at the back, under a mountainous pile of old photo albums, was a simple wooden box. 'Scootaloo' had been lovingly carved into the lid, and the filly traced the grooves with her hoof, remembering how when she was small, before her parents spent every living moment at sea, her dad would hold her tight, rocking her in his gentle arms to the rhythm of an old lullaby her mum would sing. The lid eased open beneath her hooves, and she gasped. The box was packed to the bursting point with fluttering papers covered in drawings of ponies, wolves and detailed diagrams of the moon. Several journals lay open among the mess, and Scootaloo glimpsed pages filled with the neat hoofwriting of her father. A faded photo was taped loosely to parchment, lifting away at the tiniest of tugs. Scootaloo examined it, a yellowing picture of two wolves in a forest resembling the one nearly engulfing her cottage. Somepony had scrawled a caption on the back: 'Your father and I as newlyweds.' Did this prove Luna's theory, or was this somepony's idea of a cruel joke? Beneath the thousands of papers, a delicate jewellery box was tucked away from prying eyes. Snuggled in soft layers of lilac velvet lay a clouded stone, skilfully threaded to a thin chain of silver links. A necklace. Scootaloo lifted it as gently as her awkward hooves could manage and placed it against her throat. Fastening the chain as best she could, the small filly stole a glance at her parent's full length mirror. The stone had cleared, now resembling a polished shard of glass, and yet at the same time Scootaloo felt her mind clear. Clamouring thoughts she didn't even know existed fell silent, as one word rang through the corridors of her mind - SHIFTER *** Scootaloo tumbled into the warm nest of pillows and fleece blankets that was her bed, clutching her precious box tightly. She curled up amongst the mess, ready to inspect the contents. The box held thousands upon thousands of groups of parchment, filled with generations of hoofwritten words: her ancestors, she supposed. Detailed diagrams were on nearly every page, and studies of wild and tame wolves made up almost half the box. A recurring fascination with the moon puzzled Scootaloo, but then so did the rest of it. Wrinkled scrolls on wolf instinct showed up, and the filly made a mental note to investigate one titled 'Controlling the Beast Within'. When the box was empty, Scootaloo ran her hoof along the comforting oak bottom, missing her parents more than she had in months. A tiny lump in the smooth surface made her stop, her heart thumping. Holding the box up to the light, she spotted a hinge at the seam where the sides and bottom joined. If she squinted hard enough, she could see a line running along the edges. A hidden compartment had been concealed in the bottom! Flipping her hoof under a small dip chiselled into the wood, she managed to ease the compartment door open. A slim black book was slotted perfectly into the space. Scootaloo opened the cover to find a crinkled page covered in her mother's hoofwriting. Sweetheart, I know it must be hard for you right now, but if you've found this, I can tell you with all my heart that it will get better. Use the stone well. I love you. - Mummy